Fearless
by chariots99
Summary: The life of a spy is never easy. You have to be brave, smart, quick on your feet, courageous...and above all, fearless. SEQUEL to WDKYWITA! Also, this is NOT a song-fic!
1. Love Story

**Love Story**

_See the lights; see the party, the ball gowns_

The two danced a while longer, Alex Rider holding Desiree Swan close to his chest, making sure that the girl didn't fall over while she was still in her medically induced uncoordinated state. His lips were still tingling from the kiss, his mouth now drawn into a small smile as he looked down into Desiree's crystal blue eyes.

"What was that for?" Alex asked, keeping his voice soft.

"What was what for?"

"The kiss."

Desiree smiled up at him, though there was some uncertainty behind her crystal blue eyes as if she was worried that she'd just done the wrong thing.

"I just...I just wanted to have something to remind me of you," Desiree whispered back, "You know, when I go home."

"Well...it was nice," Alex said rather lamely, though his smile had spread.

"It was, wasn't it?" Desiree grinned, her eyes sparkling with joy.

Both spies were resolutely ignoring Alex's best friend Tom Harris, who was currently rolling around on the ground in laughter. His date frowned at his stupidity, though the girl did have a small smile on her face as she watch on amusedly while her date made a fool of himself. Although, not many people were focussed on Tom's idiocy; most were staring at either Alex or Desiree, and the ones that weren't hadn't witnessed the kiss at all.

"I wish they'd stop staring," Dessi sighed, her eyes flickering around at all the eyes focused in their direction. It was actually making her nervous, being under the scrutiny of so many people.

"Yeah, but then, it is your fault," Alex grinned.

"What? How is it _my_ fault?"

"Well, if you hadn't kissed me, they wouldn't have had anything to stare at, and thus you wouldn't be complaining about their staring," Alex explained in an exaggeratedly slow manner, teasing the girl in his arms.

"Well, excuse _me_ for breathing," Dessi huffed, though there was a smile on her face.

"You're excused," Alex smirked.

"Oh, ha ha, very funny."

"Thanks, I try."

Desiree rolled her eyes again. "Sometimes, I don't know why I'm friends with you."

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Especially from that idiot rolling around on the floor," Alex said, jerking his head at his friend who was still in fits of laughter, "He really is immature, isn't he?"

Dessi snorted. "You're one to talk!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alex asked.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all," came the innocent reply.

Alex gave Dessi a pointed look, narrowing his eyes in suspicion, but said nothing in reply. Desiree leaned her head onto Alex's shoulder, her eyes fluttering shut. The boy grinned rather stupidly at the contact, keeping the two rocking in time with the music. They danced slowly, letting the music fill in the comfortable silence which they'd fallen into.

_Little did I know, that you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles. And my daddy said stay away from Juliet. And I was crying on the staircase, begging you please don't go._

The two spies danced the night away, holding each other close as if they could take comfort and solace in the other's warmth. Other couples drifted on and off the dancing square, but there seemed to be an unspoken agreement not to disturb the two, who were definitely lost in their own worlds. Even Tom stayed away, although that may have been due to his date physically holding him back every time he showed any indication that he wanted to go over to his best friend and annoy him.

Eventually, one by one, the couples left the dance. Tom was dragged away by his date. Cindy stalked past Alex and Dessi, throwing them harsh death glares that she'd clearly been practicing. However, the two were so lost in their own worlds that those glares went unnoticed.

Alex was the first out of the pair to stir from his trance-like state. The boy blinked, looking around at the empty place in confusion before realising what must have happened. He leaned down again, brushing his lips gently over Desiree's upturned cheek.

"Dessi?" He whispered softly into the girl's ear. "Dessi, I think it's time to go."

"Already?" Came the soft reply.

"Yeah. Come on, we don't really want to keep Jake waiting." Alex grinned. Desiree agreed, though rather sleepily, before slipping her non-broken hand inside Alex's. They both smiled rather shyly at each other, before he led her outside. Once they reached the doors though, he paused and turned to face the girl again.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, he leaned downwards, before pressing his lips against hers.

_It's a love story, baby just say yes._

Later that night, the two were waiting outside the dance in the darkness. Above them was a clear sky, soft stars twinkling down at the two spies who were blind and deaf to everything but each other. Alex had his arm wrapped around the girl, who was leaning into his body, enjoying the warmth he provided against the freezing cold breeze.

"So much for keeping Jake waiting," Desiree teased, nudging Alex gently in his side.

Alex huffed. He was about to give Desiree some sarcastic reply or other when a sleek, black, and clearly government issued car pulled up next to them. The doors opened and Jake, Jack and Anna all got out, the three in a very heated argument about football (or soccer to the Australians). Terry and Dean seemed to prefer the safety of the car, and with the known tempers of the other three, no-one could blame them.

Alex gave Dessi a cheeky grin. "Sorry, you were saying?"

"Oh, shut it," the girl said with a shove that almost sent Alex sprawling into the snow. He regained his balance and threw Desiree a glare, before another car pulled up behind the first. Alex could see Agents Daniels and Banks inside, though neither man seemed to want to come out. Perhaps they too could hear Jake, Jack and Anna's argument...

"Well, I guess this is it," Desiree sighed, looking up at Alex with crystal blue eyes. "I...It's been wonderful to get to know you."

"Same," Alex said, blinking rapidly to stop the feeling of wanting to cry.

"I...Thanks...thanks Alex. For everything," Desiree said with a sad smile before sticking out her hand. "Goodbye."

Alex glanced down at the offered hand, then glanced over at Jake. The man still seemed involved in whatever argument he was having. Taking the chance, Alex grabbed Dessi's hand and used it to pull her up close. Ignoring her gasp of surprise, he captured her lips in one final kiss.

"Goodbye," he whispered as Dessi rested her forehead against his.

There was a moment of silence. Too much silence. With a start, Alex jerked away from the girl to find Anna and Jack gazing lovingly at the two, Terry and Dean laughing themselves silly (though the closed doors and windows blocked out any sound they may be making. Ben and Andrew Banks also appeared to be in hysterics, Ben banging on the steering wheel apparently fighting for breath as he laughed. And Jake...well Jake had locked eyes with Alex and was currently giving the boy the most feared death glare in the history of death glares.

"Uh oh," Alex muttered under his breath, turning and taking off at a run as Jake made a lunge for the boy.


	2. Fifteen

Fifteen

_When you're fifteen and your first kiss makes your head spin 'round_

Desiree sighed as she resurfaced, kicking viciously to keep her head above the surf. It had been a little more than two months since her return to Australia, and more than ever she was appreciating living in a country that didn't _snow_. Sure, snow was pretty, snow was fun, especially if you can throw it in the face of one Alex Rider, but it was also bloody _freezing!_ No, the girl was much better suited to the warm Australian temperature.

"Dessi! Oi, Dessi!" A loud voice shouted from the shore, causing the girl to start violently and inhale a mouthful of sea water. Coughing and spluttering, the girl turned to give Jake her best glare, ignoring the fact that he wouldn't be able to see it from afar. "Dessi! We're going! Come on!"

The AIS agent sighed again, before kicking out and beginning her swim back to shore.

It was very rare for AIS agents to have a day off, but that was exactly what this Saturday had been. Jake had taken his entire unit down to Scarborough Beach where they'd spent the day among the surf, among the beach, or in Terry's case, buried in the sand. It appeared that now, as the sun was about to make its descent below the horizon, they would be leaving once again for AIS headquarters. Not something Desiree was looking forward to.

The girl had just reached the shallower waters of the beach when a terrified scream split the air. She whipped around, her hand automatically going to her hip where there was usually a gun or a weapon of sorts before she realised that she was wearing bathers, to see a girl, perhaps thirteen years of age, losing a frantic battle with the waves. Dessi glanced back at her unit, meeting her field partner's eyes. A shared look of understanding passed between the two, and Jake nodded.

Desiree turned and dived back into the water, her well practiced strokes pulling her rapidly towards the drowning girl. From the corner of her eye she could see someone she presumed to be the girl's older brother, seemingly frozen in shock. Grimly the spy ploughed on, hoping to reach the drowning girl before anything worse could happen.

Of course, with her luck, something worse was bound to happen. And it did.

The thirteen year old had tired drastically from her struggle against the waves. She couldn't keep her head above the water for as long, and kept getting sucked back down into the depths of the ocean. Just as she spotted Desiree, the girl lost her fight and was dragged under into the darkness of the waters.

Desiree watched the girl look around and spot her; she watched the fearful eyes widen with hope. And she watched as the girl disappeared from the surface of the waters...and not reappear. Dessi swore quite violently under her breath before she took a deep breath and dived.

Under the water, everything went silent. The waves calmly dragged her in three different directions at once, seemingly begging her to play with it. Like a puppy who didn't know its own strength, the ocean couldn't understand that it was a force to be reckoned with. Dessi squinted through the water, trying to locate the girl in the ocean's depths. With each stroke pulling her deeper and deeper into the water's embrace, the AIS agent was running out of air. Her lungs screamed for oxygen.

A movement caught the girl's eye; turning her head, she saw the thirteen year old struggling weakly against the restraints of the ocean. She seemed to have held her breath; though who knew how long it would be before the girl gave into her struggle and breathed in a lungful of deadly salty water.

Dessi struck out for the girl, ignoring the burning sensation of her oxygen deprived lungs. Adrenalin surged through her body, making up for the increasing drainage of energy from her body. With one last kick, she'd reached the thirteen year old girl.

Wrapping an arm around the body that had stilled at once from her touch, Dessi set out for the surface of the ocean. Time was running out for both of them. She had to get them up fast, before either lost consciousness from the lack of oxygen circulating their body. Already she could feel her vision dimming.

Then suddenly, they broke the surface. Two simultaneous gasps could be heard as they both refilled their lungs with as much air as was humanely possible. For a while they stayed like that, both breathing hard, with Desiree keeping them both afloat. Then the spy set out slowly for the shores, not wanting to push her body to its limit. It had worked hard enough already.

Once they reached a spot where they could feel the sandy bottoms, Desiree let the thirteen year old girl go. She staggered to her feet, before tripping. Dessi had to lunge to catch the girl. She had just steadied them both when the girl's older brother reached them, pulling his sister into a tight hug as the girl broke down into tears, a mixture of fear and relief.

Dessi watched on with a small smile, before turning to head back to where Jake was watching and waiting. Just before she could leave though, a warm hand closed gently around her wrist. Startled, the spy spun around, though the hand remained. The girl looked up into hazel eyes, bright with unshed tears, full of relief.

"Thank you," the seventeen year old boy whispered gratefully, his voice hoarse, "Thank you so much." His sister clung to his side, but she gave Desiree a shy smile as her own thanks.

Not entirely sure of what to say, and figuring that it probably _wasn't _a good idea to tell them that it happened every day, Desiree just nodded. The boy thanked her again before letting her go, pulling his sister into another tight hug. Dessi took that as her cue to leave, slipping away quietly before making her way over to Jake. She could feel the boy's eyes follow her all the way to the inconspicuous AIS car.

"Played the hero again," Jake greeted her, wrapping a towel around her still wet figure.

"Oh, shut up," Dessi said, though her words were slurred from her exhaustion. Jake grinned, shaking his head before guiding the girl into the car where Terry and Dean bombarded her with questions about her rescue.

Dessi looked out the window as Jake pulled away, and caught sight of the brother and sister making their way away from the ocean. The seventeen year old lifted his head and, catching sight of Desiree's face from the window of the car, waved her goodbye. Dessi returned the wave, though she was unsure if he saw it or not.

Terry watched his unit's youngest member with a grin. "Ooooooooooooo," he said in a teasing tone, "Dessi's got a cruuuuuuuuuuuuush."

"Shut it Terry, before I make you," came the snappish retort.

Terry caught Jake's eye in the rear view mirror. With a grin, both boys burst into song.

"Dessi's got a cru-ush, Dessi's got a cru-ush, Dessi's got a cru-ush!"

Dean rolled his eyes at Desiree, who grimaced before turning to look out the window, blocking out the two from her world. She watched the sun make its slow descent, nearing the horizon with each passing second. It had been two months since she'd kissed Alex. Two months since Alex had kissed her back. She could still feel the softness of his lips, the sweet tingle he'd left. In the past two months, she'd been dwelling on Alex a lot, but now she had to face the facts.

Alex was, and always would be, her first kiss. But there was no guarantee that they would ever meet again. And even if they did, who knew how much either of them would've changed? Perhaps it was time to stop thinking about what ifs, and what could have been. Perhaps it was time to stop dwelling on the past.

Perhaps it was time to move on.

_Desiree plays the hero, and meets a very sweet boy along the way...perhaps he'll make a reappearance in the future? Who knows...___

_Love Chariots99_


	3. The Other Side of the Door

The Other Side of the Door

_This time, I've had enough. _

_And you've called a hundred times, but I'm not picking up._

Alex angrily stormed into his room, slamming his bedroom door shut before throwing himself onto his bed. His mobile rang. Again. The sixteen year old pulled his mobile out of his pocket and glanced at the caller ID.

_Marie Reynolds_.

Swearing angrily, he jammed the _ignore_ option before throwing his phone aside. Outside his window, the weather seemed to reflect his bad mood. It was cloudy, grey, and raining, splattering across his window with loud, rhythmic beats.

It was early November, and the rain was coming down heavier than usual. November, marking eleven months since Alex and Desiree's first kiss. November, marking five months since Alex had fallen for Marie Reynolds, one of Cindy's cheerleaders and loyal follower. He should've known better than to expect something good to come out of their relationship. What had he been thinking when he'd asked the girl out?

Two weeks ago, Tom had walked in on Marie in a full-blown snogging sessions with Brody, a defender on their football team. The boy had displayed that he did indeed possess some form of intellectual thought by sneaking out unnoticed and informing Alex, instead of getting into protective friend mode. Which he then did the following practice, tackling Brody to the ground. He had to be pulled off the other boy and physically restrained while they got Brody medical assistance, and since then had the two had to be kept separate. For such a short, scrawny boy, Tom was definitely not someone you wanted to mess around with.

That piece of information from his best friend had been the last straw for Alex. His and Marie's relationship had already been strained, with Alex not liking the heavy amount of flirting the girl was doing with boys who weren't her boyfriend, and Marie constantly complaining about the fact that Alex had refused to "give some to her".

A little more than a week ago, Alex had confronted Marie about the incident, and had subsequently broken up with her. Since then, the girl would not stop pestering him, constant calls telling him how sorry she was, how she wouldn't do it again, how he should give her a second chance.

But Alex had given her plenty of second chances already. And he wasn't willing to put his heart on the line only for it to be trampled on over and over again, with no reprieve. Because that girl did not change her ways. Alex should have known that; anyone who followed Cindy so willingly would be like that.

"Alex?" Jack's muffled voice said through the closed door, "Alex, please come out and talk about this!"

The boy ignored his housekeeper, his friend. He knew that he should tell Jack about it, vent his frustration and hurt. But he just couldn't bring himself to think about all that, not again, not when it came and haunted him night after night in his nightmares.

"Alex, please! You've done nothing but sulk for the past week! I may not know much, but please you have to talk to me! Please Alex!" But Alex remained silent. After a while, he heard Jack sigh softly, heard her footsteps retreat away from his door, and he was alone again.

Hours passed. He wasn't sure how long he'd stayed in his room, but soon Jack came back up again to softly whisper that dinner was ready. Alex didn't move. He hadn't come down to dinner for the week, preferring to sneak down in the dead of night to forage whatever was left over from the meal. And Jack always made sure there were leftovers.

The doorbell sounded. He could hear Jack answer the door, letting in whoever was visiting. In his semi-depressed state of mind, it never occurred to Alex that the guest may be dangerous. But fortunately for him, they weren't.

"Alex! Alex Rider!"

Alex started as a familiar voice shouted at him through the door. It was Agent Rose Allende, who had always made time to visit him and Jack when she wasn't out on missions. The twenty two year old had become like a sort of surrogate sister to Alex, giving the boy plenty of advice over the past eleven months, and helping him deal with Desiree's departure from his life. Now it appeared that the woman would once again come to Alex's rescue.

"Alex Rider, I know you can hear me! And if you don't stop sulking like a little child and open this door when I count to three, I will kick it down and drag you out myself!"

Knowing that Rose was the kind of woman who would come through with any threat she made, Alex sighed and got off his bed, dragging his feet before he opened the door. He came face to face with hazel eyes filled with concern. The eyes lit up at once when Rose realised that she didn't even have to start counting. Putting an arm around Alex's shoulders, the twenty two year old led the boy over to his bed again.

"Now tell me," she said once they both got comfortable, "What's the matter?"

And then it suddenly just came pouring out. The betrayal, the hurt, the anger Alex had bottled up over the entire ordeal came out in a rush of words. Rose remained silent, letting Alex shout and cry and pace and throw things around the room, occasionally ducking when a couple of items came flying her way. Accidentally, of course. Eventually Alex calmed down, tear tracks still visible along his cheeks. He sat back down on the bed and allowed Rose to pull him into a warm and comfortable hug.

"Better now?" She asked, drying the boy's tears in a motherly fashion.

"Yeah," Alex whispered, his voice hoarse from the amount of shouting he just did.

"Let's go down for dinner, okay? Jack's been worried sick about you."

Alex nodded, allowing Rose to help him off his bed and wrap an arm around his shoulders again before steering him down the stairs and into the kitchen. Jack stood at the counter, a worried expression etched into her face. Upon seeing Alex out of his room giving her a smile, she rushed over and pulled the boy into a tight hug of her own.

"Erm, Jack...I don't think that anyone would be too happy if you strangled him," Rose joked upon seeing Alex struggle for air. She pried the American's arms off Alex, before allowing her to lead the boy to the kitchen table and sit him down, before fetching him a huge plate of spaghetti bolognaise. Rose sat herself down next to Alex with her on plate of Jack's famous five minute meal.

Alex grinned in welcome at the food, his first real smile in over two weeks, before tucking into his meal with great vigour, making Jack smile in a motherly fashion. He wasn't better. He would still hurt, and hurt for a long while. But that was the beauty of time. It could heal all wounds.

And it would heal his too.


	4. Superstar

Superstar

_I'm no-one special just another wide-eyed girl, who's desperately in love with you_

Desiree stared awestruck at the impromptu stage which had been set up in the middle of the shopping centre. Beside her, Jake and Terry sniggered at her stunned expression and her momentary loss of the speaking ability. Dessi ignored them though. This had to be the biggest coincidence in the history of...well, coincidences.

Unit One had just come back from their latest mission – an undercover operation which had lead to them being able to eliminate some of the key figures of Australia's underground gangs. None of them had been hurt (a true miracle), so Jake had decided that the four of them needed some "treats", thus leading to them stopping off at the shopping centre. Of course, being the wonderfully responsible leader that he was, he left Dean to go get them some ice creams while he, Terry and Desiree wandered around.

And that was how they stumbled onto the seemingly impromptu performance being given to a rather big crowd of rowdy teenagers. Most of whom appeared to be girls. Screaming and cheering and swooning for the boy up on the stage, who was singing with a band of teenagers. Surprisingly, the boy actually could sing. But that wasn't the only surprising thing about him...

"Hey Dessi, didn't you save that kid's sister from drowning back in March?" Jake sniggered as he pointed to the lead singer.

"Shut it, Jake," Desiree snarled, though less viciously than she normally would. For her attention had just been caught by the aforementioned sister, standing slightly off one side of the stage and gazing at her older brother with pride.

The boy ended the final note of his song, and the crowd erupted into even louder cheers than before. Those passing by doing their Christmas shopping looked in their direction with curiosity, before going back to buying their respective presents. The boy on stage gave a very showy bow, before giving his band the thumbs up and blowing his sister a kiss. Then he turned back to the audience with a very cocky smile on his face, waving at his cheering fans. Finally he and his band left the stage, and the crowd dispersed off, many breaking into groups of chattering girls.

Terry prodded Desiree in the side. "Aren't you going to say hello to your boyfriend, Des-Des?" He smirked.

"When are you going to stop using that hideous nickname?" Desiree asked irritably, smacking Terry's hand away.

Terry just grinned in what he felt was a mysterious manner, one which caused Jake to burst out into laughter. Desiree just shook her head. "Come on, let's go find Dean," she muttered, turning to leave, before Terry caught one of her arms and Jake grabbed the other.

"Oh, no, you're not getting away _that_ easily!" Jake grinned. The two then began dragging the girl towards the stage, overpowering her attempts to wriggle free. The few stragglers left hanging around gave the three strange looks before hurrying away, obviously under the impression that they were not normal.

"Okay, okay, you can let me go," Desiree said, highly annoyed. By now they had reached the actual stage, which was really just a platform raised by a multitude of metal supporting it from underneath.

Jake and Terry just grinned, though they did let the girl go. Neither wanted to die a horrible death anytime soon. Desiree huffed, brushing her hair, which was still in soft curls from their mission, off her face. Before any of the three could make a move though, the girl who Desiree had saved from drowning stepped around the corner of the stage and saw them

The girl's eyes widened, taking in the two men before zeroing in on the girl. She recognised her facial features, though the rest of her had been drenched in sea water the last time they'd met. A shy smile spread across her face.

"Hello," she said.

Desiree smiled back. "Hi."

"I remember you. But, I didn't know your hair was curly. It's very pretty."

"Thanks, though it's not normally curly." By then, Jake and Terry had found some way of disappearing from sight. Not that Desiree noticed. Well, okay she did notice. But she really didn't care.

"Are you here to see my brother?" The girl asked shyly.

"Well actually, I hadn't planned on this visit at all. I didn't know your brother could sing," Desiree explained. "It's a very nice surprise."

The thirteen year old grinned happily. "He's very talented," she explained, "He gets all sorts of gigs, and we get to travel around everywhere. Mum and dad normally don't come along, and I have to go to school, but when he's performing locally I get to go backstage to all his shows!"

"That must be exciting," Desiree smiled.

"It is," a new voice suddenly spoke, causing both girls to start. Desiree turned to see the girl's seventeen year old brother leaning against the side of the stage, staring at her with mild curiosity. When blue eyes met hazel however, his face suddenly lit up in recognition.

"You!" He exclaimed happily," I wasn't expecting to see you here!"

"To be honest, neither was I," Desiree grinned wryly.

"I have to thank you again, for saving Abby. If you hadn't gone after her, I...I just...thank you," he finished with sincerity.

"You've thanked me enough," Desiree said, "It's seriously getting on my nerves. No offence or anything," she quickly added, "But a person can only be thanked so many times for something."

"Fair enough," the boy grinned, "Okay, let me make it up to you. I have a three hour break now, before I'm scheduled to perform again. How about I take you out for lunch? At no charge to yourself, of course. Just you and me. And Abby if she wants to come."

Desiree hesitated slightly, her eyes darting quickly to where Jake and Terry were hiding. She knew that the two boys were bound to either try and listen into their conversation, or lip read. Those two were just too curious for their own good sometimes. Jake noticed the subtle change in attention, and realised that Dessi was asking for his permission to go. The unit leader grinned, giving his field partner the thumbs up.

Desiree smiled up at the seventeen year old. "I'd love to."

"Great! Abby, you coming?"

The girl shook her head. "I wanna hang out with Julian," she said.

"Okay then. Tell him I'll be back in time for the next gig." Abby nodded and gave Desiree a smile, before running off, no doubt to where backstage was located to find Julian.

"Julian's our bass player," the seventeen year old said, leading Desiree in the direction of the food courts, "He's teaching Abby how to play guitar." Suddenly the boy stopped walking. "I haven't introduced myself at all, have I? Oh, wow, I have manners," he muttered to himself before turning to Desiree with a grin.

"Oh fair lady, I beg forgiveness from you, and plead for you to reveal your name so that I may be blessed enough to whisper it with my unworthy lips –"

"Stop that," Desiree grinned, giving the boy a shove, "You're even more overdramatic than Jake!"

"Ah! And who is this Jake whom I must fight with for your attention?"

"Jake would be my surrogate brother," Desiree said. It was a very well practised lie. "And I'm Desiree."

"Desiree...that's a very pretty name."

"Mm-hm. And you are...?"

The boy grinned, before sweeping into a very low and dramatic bow. "Derik Wilkes, at your service."

.

_Thanks for reading and I hope you've enjoyed it._

_Until next time_

_Love Chariots99_


	5. The Best Day

The Best Day

_I didn't know if you knew, so I'm taking this chance to say, that I had the best day with you. Today._

Alex took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh warm breeze that gently tousled his hair. Beside him, Rose Allende and Ben Daniels acted like the mature MI6 agents they were by having a full blown water bomb war.

The hot July weather had been strongly missed by the seventeen year old; the snow reminded him too much of a certain blonde girl who had taken great pleasure in lobbing extremely well aimed snow balls at his face every other minute.

That said, the boy still really missed Desiree Swan. It had been a year and a half now, and with him reaching graduation and a certain life as a spy, the girl's comforting presence was something that Alex desperately craved.

"Alex? Come and help me set up," Jack's voice interrupted his thoughts before he could descent into depression.

With a rueful grin, Alex rushed over to his housekeeper and friend, ducking several times to avoid the stray water bombs that flew in his direction.

"Why can't we get those two to do the setting up?" Alex asked as he unpacked several disposable plates from the picnic basket. They could hear Rose shrieking with laughter as Ben lay on the floor completely drenched in water.

"You know very well that if you want something done in the next ten years, you should never ask Rose or Ben. Especially Ben," Jack added as she pulled out the many rolls of bread that was in the basket, setting them up on plates before going back into the straw basket and digging out packets of disposable cutlery.

Alex grinned. "Fair point."

Eventually the food was spread out neatly onto the blanket which they had spread on the ground. Alex was then ordered to do the impossible task of trying to get Ben and his former protégée to abandon their water war and eat their lunch. It took almost half an hour to even catch up to the two hyperactive and supposedly mature secret agents.

Jack looked up when the three finally arrived back where she'd set up. The woman took one look at the three before immediately bursting out into laughter. Rose and Ben grinned rather sheepishly, while Alex scowled from between the two. Agents Daniels and Allende had thought it would be amusing to dump the entire remains of their water bomb supply onto the boy.

"Next time, you're calling them," Alex huffed indignantly at his housekeeper who was still in peals of laughter. The boy shook his head rapidly, spraying water everywhere and causing Jack to shriek in surprise.

Lunch was a very relaxed affair. Rather unusually for the three spies, no one even _once_ tried to assassinate them, blow them up, poison them, take them hostage, or maim them in some other way or form. Not that they were complaining or anything. It was just a very nice change.

It was after their pleasant lunch that the most interesting event of the day occurred.

Jack had gone to load the car and find the location of the toilets. Ben had decided that it would be fun to antagonize his former protégée. He was currently engaged in running around the park like a maniac as he frantically tried to escape from the younger MI6 agent who had declared war on his life.

Alex was left stretched out on the grass, happily basking in the sun. His eyes were shut, and he was floating in the blissful state of pre-sleep before the sun and all its warmth was suddenly cut off from his face.

Alex opened his eyes and squinted up at the face that was currently staring down at him, swearing to himself that if it was either Rose or Ben he would practice a newly learned and highly painful manoeuvre out on them.

But the person staring down at him was the last person he expected to see. With brown hair framing her face, shorter than it was the last time he saw her, the girl grinned rather excitedly when she realised that Alex had recognised her.

The girl sat down next to Alex just as the boy raised himself off the ground into a sitting position. Alex stared at her in disbelief, though a smile was slowly spreading on his face.

"Sabina? Is that really you?"

Sabina Pleasure laughed. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Yeah," Alex breathed, "Wow, I never thought I'd see you again!"

"Me too," Sabina admitted. "But we're on holiday and my parents left to do some shopping. I was just wondering around when I saw Jack, and she said that you were around! I actually almost tripped over you though..."

Alex laughed. "Well, in my defence, the ground is very comfortable."

"I have no doubt," Sabina mused.

For a while they sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying the fresh air, the warm breeze and each others' presence.

"How long are you staying for?" Alex asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Dunno. A couple of months," the girl shrugged.

"So, what have you been up to in the past couple of years?"

Sabina smiled, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Travelling. Spent a year and a bit in Italy. That was pretty good. And we just came from Australia. There was some outbreak of violence or something. I'm not sure what happened. Anyway, dad thought it would be nice to come back to England for a while."

Alex's heart started beating rapidly at the mention of Australia. He knew that the country wasn't a violent place... "What do you mean by the outbreak of violence?"

Sabina frowned thoughtfully. "There were more and more people – I think they were from gangs – being turned in. And their families and friends weren't too happy about it. Apparently they tracked down the...well, snitch I suppose. There was some drive-by shooting; it was on the news. There was this girl that got shot in the process too. So dad reckoned that we should get away while we can...Alex, are you alright?"

Alex mentally shook himself, hoping against hope that a certain AIS agent was _not_ involved in this at all. "Yeah, I'm cool."

"Bring back memories?" Sabina asked sadly, mistaking the boy's sudden paleness. "It did for me. I wasn't too happy about the whole situation, but I had to move on sooner or later, you know?"

Any response Alex had was interrupted by the ever so subtle Ben Daniels. "Oi Rider! Who's your girlfriend?"

Alex groaned and buried his face in his hands as Ben and Rose ran up to the two teens. Sabina looked rather bewildered, though there was a spark of amusement in her expression. Rose just rolled her eyes.

"Great job Ben, now you've gone and embarrassed them," she scolded, adding a punch for emphasis.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For being an insensitive jerk, you moron!"

"Hey! Watch your mouth! I am your superior, you know," Ben said smugly, earning himself another punch.

Alex cleared his throat, catching the two supposedly mature agents' attentions. Then he gestured to the highly confused Sabina. "Guys, this is Sabina Pleasure. She's going to be around for a while. Sabina, these idiots are Ben Daniels and Rose Allende. They are...um...you-know-whats."

Rose raised an eyebrow in question, but Sabina's eyes lit up in recognition. "Same as you?" She asked Alex softly. The boy nodded.

"Nice to meet you," Sabina smiled, turning her attention to the two spies and holding out her hand.

"Same to you," Rose said. Ben nodded with a smile.

"Are you guys ready?" Jack suddenly appeared, almost out of thin air, "The car's loaded, thanks for your help, and if – oh, hey Sabina!"

"Hi Jack."

"I have to get this ungrateful lot back home. You can come along if you want, but we really do need to leave now," Jack said apologetically.

"Oh, no, it's okay. Mum and dad don't know where I am, and I don't want them to worry and end up calling the police or anything."

"Okay. Be careful though!" Jack smiled, giving the girl a hug before turning and dragging Agent Daniels off. Rose grinned at the girl before hurrying off after the two, Ben's complaints drifting back to them.

"Well, that was excruciatingly embarrassing," Alex muttered.

Sabina just laughed. "Don't worry about it. Least you have some fun people to hang around now."

Alex grinned and shook his head, before sticking out his hand. "I'll see you around then?" Sabina eyed the hand, before ignoring it and pulling the boy into a tight hug. To say Alex was startled would be an understatement, but he awkwardly patted the girl on the back before she let him go.

"See you 'round." Sabina grinned.

_Well, well, well. The return of Miss Sabina Pleasure..._

_Thanks for reading!___

_Love, Chariots99_


	6. WTF just happened?

Yes, I did just delete the story and re-load it. The reason for this is because I've had numerous people PMing me about the fact that this story isn't showing up on their front pages and they've have to go to my profile page to find the story. I have no clue as to what's happening, and I sincerely hope that this will make the story show up for you! If not, then I'm out of ideas (technology really isn't my strong point).

Thanks for reading!

Love Chariots99

Ps,I'd just like to take this moment to acknowledge my wonderful reviewers so far, since deleting this story has meant that I've deleted their awesome reviews too.

So, I'd like to thank from the bottom of my heart:

ching965 (I'd like to publicly say that you have written the longest reviews I've ever had! So, a BIG thanks to you!)

iwasthere68

marisje

Iamawsome

british hellion

cjpatel05

xCrazyChicax

multicoloured carpet

Sueberry

Awesomnessness

LttlBlcKitty

Thanks also to the eighty-six people who have added my story to favourites/alert. I would personally thank you all, but you know...eighty-six names to type out? But still, thanks.

To everyone who reads my story, thanks as well, but please do try and review! Even something as simple as "Nice, update soon!" would be amazing to hear!

Anyways, I'll update ASAP!  
Love Chariots99


	7. Hey Stephen

Hey Stephen

_I can't help it if you look like an angel; can't help it if I want to kiss you in the rain._

Derik grinned as he spotted the approaching figure of one Desiree Swan. It had been almost three months since they'd last met – prior to that they'd been seeing each other almost once a week, though there were plenty of times where Desiree had called up sick or in some other way engaged.

He himself had been away quite often too. Usually it was for his concerts, but there were also times where he had to visit his dad in Sydney. His parents had gotten a divorce several years ago, and at the time it had been very hard on them all, especially his sister Abby who had only been eight at the time and hadn't understood too well what was happening.

Derik waved his arm wildly, trying to get the blonde girl's attention. People walking past shot him some strange looks but he ignored them in favour of grinning broadly at his girlfriend. Desiree, once she spotted him, increased her pace dramatically and within moments she was by Derik's side. Or rather, in his arms.

"Hey Derik," she whispered into his ear, pulling away to give him a wide grin.

"Hello Des," Derik replied, kissing the girl softly on her nose, "How're you doing?"

Desiree sighed. "Much better. Thanks for visiting me in hospital by the way."

Derik chuckled. "What else am I good for?" He teased. "But, are you going to tell me how you got shot?"

"Well, it's kind of embarrassing," Desiree said, rolling her eyes, "I was with Jake at our farm down south, and we were in one of those really old sheds, and Jake just _happened_ to trip over something or other. Anyways, he sort of flailed around for a handhold, and grabbed the gun which we didn't realise was there. And somehow, the idiot managed to pull the trigger."

Derik raised an eyebrow. "Next time I see Jake, I'll break his arm for you."

Dessi grinned. "No need. I saw to that myself."

"I knew there was a reason my sister told me you were a keeper," Derik said, wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulders, "Now my fair lady, if you would please escort me in this general direction. Our carriage awaits."

Desiree rolled her eyes, but there was still a soft smile on her face. She let Derik guide her through the mass of people. It took him five minutes to remember where he'd parked his car, and another three to make sure they weren't killed crossing the busy road, but at long last they reached the sleek, slightly beaten down car which had taken Derik over a month to fix up.

"And here you go, milady," the boy grinned, holding the passenger seat door open for Dessi, waiting for her to get into the car before he went around to the driver's seat. Once they were all settled in, he started the car up.

"So, where are we going?" Desiree asked as they sped down the street. She didn't even bother telling the boy that he was way over the speed limit – well, she didn't follow the law either, so it would be rather hypocritical.

"You'll see," came the mysterious answer which caused the AIS agent to roll her eyes again.

"I'm seventeen, Derik," Desiree said in exasperation, "You can't keep giving me these surprises."

"But you're never too old for surprises!"

"Until the curiosity kills me," came the dry retort.

"Then I'll be forced to perform DRABC! CPR! Mouth to mouth!"

"Oh, daunting prospect, touching your lips to mine."

Derik burst out laughing. "And this is why I like you so much!" He exclaimed, swerving quickly to avoid a collision.

Desiree raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, I see how it is," she said in miffed voice, though she couldn't keep the amusement out of it. Something Derik noticed.

"Awww, did I hurt your poor feelings?" Derik teased, "How 'bout I kiss it better for you?"

"How 'bout you keep your eyes on the road!" Desiree laughed as the car swerved sharply again, barely avoiding the lamp post which they had been heading for. "Jeez Derik! You drive worse than me!"

"Oh, now that was low!"

Desiree snorted. "Nah, really?"

"Oh how you wound my soul, my heart, my –"

"Hey, we're at the beach!" Desiree cut off the overdramatic boy she called her boyfriend in favour of gazing excitedly at Cottesloe Beach. Honestly, how could she have not realised where they had been headed? Too busy bickering...

Derik chuckled at the girl's obvious excitement. "Of course we're at the beach, where do you think all that water came from?"

"Oh, shut up."

Derik parked the car, getting out just as a passing seagull decided to take a dive at his head. With a surprised yell, the boy fell back into the driver's seat, causing Desiree to erupt into a fit of laughter. Five minutes later, as they walked towards one of the picnic tables, the AIS agent was still in giggles.

Derik sighed. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Nope," came the cheerful reply.

"Great," Derik muttered somewhat gloomily, just as a girl shouted both their names.

"Desiree! Derik!"

The two looked up to see Abby standing on one of the picnic tables, waving madly at them and ignoring her mother who was trying to get her daughter off the table, wave hello to her son and his girlfriend, unpack the contents of the cooler, and cook all at the same time.

"Hey Abby, hey Ms Wilkes," Desiree greeted once they reached the table. The AIS agent had met Derik's mother quite a few times before. Derik's sister leapt off the table, running up to Desiree for a hug while Derik pouted in the background.

"How come I don't get a hug?"

Abby rolled her eyes at him. "Because," she said in an overly patient voice, "You're just not cool like that."

"Oh, shut down by a fourteen year old!" Desiree grinned.

"Why are you never on my side?" Derik whined, gazing pitifully at his girlfriend.

"Sweetie, no-one is ever on your side," Ms Wilkes' grinned at her eldest child, "But some of your band friends are down at the beach. Maybe they'll be on your side."

"Well then, maybe I'll go find them," Derik huffed, before grabbing a croissant off the table and stuffing the whole thing into his mouth at once. Ms Wilkes gazed at her son sadly, while Abby pretended to gag. Desiree rolled her eyes.

"I know I promised you I'd try change that," she said to Ms Wilkes, gesturing to Derik's less than mannered eating habit, "But I'm sorry. It's just too hard."

"Don't worry dear," Ms Wilkes sighed as Derik pretended to ignore them in favour of grabbing another croissant, "It would've been a miracle if you'd managed."

.

_Thanks for reading!_

_Love Chariots99_


	8. Forever and Always

_AN: I have no idea how schools work up in the northern hemisphere, but let's just say for the sake of the story that Alex graduated the week before, okay? Good. Now onto the story!_

**Forever and Always**

_I was there when you said "forever and always"_

Friday the thirteenth of May

There was a reason why Friday the thirteenths were considered bad luck. And for one Alex Rider, they didn't get any worse than this. This particular Friday the thirteenth would be the defining moment of Alex's life. It would be a memory which would stick out, forever.

That particular day in question dawned bright and sunny. Not very warm, but still pretty sunny. The rain of the previous day had dried, and as Alex looked out his window he could see birds fitting happily across the blue sky. He should've known right then that something was wrong.

After performing his usual morning routines, which included changing and scanning his room to make sure that no bombs were present, the now eighteen year old went downstairs into the kitchen, where he was greeted by the lovely sight of his housekeeper, his best friend and his girlfriend all having breakfast. Without him.

"Oh, jeez guys, thanks for saving me some," Alex drawled sarcastically, sitting down just as Tom snatched up the last waffle on the plate.

"You're welcome," the boy said before wolfing it down.

Sabina shot Tom a rather disgusted look before turning to Alex and giving him a good morning kiss. "How did you sleep?" she asked sweetly, offering him what was left of her breakfast as Jack stood and began making Alex more waffles.

"Rather well, considering Tom was across the hall snoring like there was no tomorrow," Alex grinned, declining her waffles and giving the girl a thankyou kiss on the cheeks. He stood up to help Jack, ignoring her when she ordered him back into his seat.

It had been a week since Alex and Tom had graduated from Brooklands. Since then, Tom had camped over at his house three out of the seven days which had passed, while Sabina had visited every day, sleeping over every other day while Alex would be at her house on the days when she wasn't at his. Complicated process, but it worked.

"So," Alex began once he'd sat back down with a plate full of his breakfast, "What do you guys want to do today?"

"I'm staying in my room and reading," Jack said, "And if anyone dare disturbs me..."

"Okay, we get it," Tom said, putting his hands up, "And don't worry. Unless there's a fire I won't disturb you at all. I like my balls where they are thanks."

"Good. Then we won't have any problems," Jake said sweetly, before leaving the three teens to talk amongst themselves.

"Honestly Alex," Tom whispered once he was sure Jack was out of earshot, "How the _hell_ did you manage to put up with her for so long and still live?"

"With skill and great dexterity," Alex grinned.

"Sure Alex, sure," Sabina giggled.

The pleasant bantering was interrupted with a series of knocks on the door. Alex should've known right there and then that something was wrong. Most people who visited his house didn't do so first thing in the morning. In fact, the only people who annoyed him like that were –

"Ben," Alex groaned upon opening the door. Ben's face immediately pulled down into a pout.

"Why aren't you happy to see me?" He sulked, "I'm happy to see you!"

"Ben, no-one's _ever_ happy to see you," Rose's voice drifted in from behind the man, "Now move so that I can get into the bloody house!"

Ben moved aside with much grumbling to allow his former protégée to step inside.

"Alex!" Rose exclaimed once she spotted the blonde teen.

"Hey Rose. Nice to see you again," Alex grinned, allowing the woman to pull him into a hug which he returned.

"How come she –? Oh, never mind," Ben huffed, letting himself into the house and closing the door behind him.

"Hi Rose! Hi Ben!" Sabina greeted when the two MI6 agents trailed into the kitchen after Alex. Having spent so much time with Alex, she'd gotten to know and get along with the MI6 agents quite well. In fact, Ben and Rose had taken the girl to one of MI6's practice shooting ranges less than a month ago, and she'd come back with glowing eyes and a happy smile. And also an annoying habit of routinely begging Alex to take her back to the range. Something the boy was very close to strangling Ben and Rose for.

"So, what are you guys doing here?" Alex asked pointedly. It wouldn't do for Sabina to get in the first question – no doubt she'd be begging _them_ to take her back to the range.

Rose and Ben shifted slightly, a movement so small that neither Sabina nor Tom registered it. But Alex did. And his eyes narrowed in response. He should have realised exactly what was wrong when he'd seen the movement. He would have at least been braced for the events that were about to occur. But no, he'd only been slightly suspicious. His spying skills must've _really_ taken a plunge after years of neglect.

"Yeah, Alex we're going to need to talk to you about something. Alone," Ben added hastily when he saw Tom and Sabina look up with interest.

Alex frowned, puzzled. "Okay," he said, leading them out of the kitchen and into the living room, which Jack had recently installed folding doors for. Letting Ben and Rose in first, Alex slid the wooden panels shut before turning to face the two agents.

"So...?" Alex began.

Rose sighed. "Alex, it's MI6," she said without any presumption, "They want you back."

Alex froze as Ben shot Rose a glare for being so insensitive. "They...what?"

"They want you back," Ben confirmed apologetically.

"But...why?"

That caused Rose to through her head back in laughter. "Why? Alex, you're the best damned spy the agency ever had! Well, maybe aside from your dad...and your uncle...and Agent Rosa...and that guy...and the guy before Blunt himself..."

"The point is," Ben cut in, "That you're too "good to let out of sight". They want us to escort you over to the bank, to go over the "terms of agreement". But you have to think about this very carefully. Because once you sign you name on the contract, you're theirs. Forever."

Alex groaned in annoyance, dropping onto the couch and hiding his face in his hands. Really, he should've seen this coming, what with all the clues the world had been giving him that morning. But still...now? A week after he'd just graduated, and thus wouldn't have anymore school to worry about? It was too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence. Dimly, in a very far part of his mind, his own soft words echoed.

_Knowing Blunt, he'll probably have the day I graduate circled in his diary. I bet I'll be sent on a mission within a week of graduating._

God, how long ago had he spoken those words? Really, maybe he ought to consider fortune telling as an alternate career or something.

Alex sighed. "I don't really have a choice do I?"

Ben and Rose, both of whom had been extremely quiet while they waited for Alex to process his thoughts, exchanged rather uncomfortable glances.

"No, you don't," Rose replied, "We tried to talk Mr Blunt out of it, but...well, the man isn't very willing to let you go. Me'n Ben did get a rather good deal for your contract though, so if you did join, you wouldn't be so...well, _used_."

Alex smiled weakly. "Thanks Rose."

Rose inclined her head in response. Alex sighed again. "Well, let's get this over with then, shall we?" The eighteen year old stood, leading the way out of the living room. He paused by the stairs, gazing up them as if contemplating if bothering Jack at that current moment was worth it. Evidently he decided it wasn't, for with a slight shrug of his shoulders he continued onto the kitchen, where he found Tom and Sabina talking about what he could possibly be talking about.

"Alex!" Sabina was the first to notice his reappearance. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing...well, nothing much," Alex sighed, before going over to Sabina and pulling the girl into his arms. "Listen, I'm going to need to go out for a while...could you tell Jack if she asks where I am?"

"Sure," Sabina said immediately, pulling back to look worriedly into Alex's brown eyes. "Where are you going?"

Alex smiled grimly. "The bank."

ARFEARLESS

Alex walked into Mr Blunt's office with Agents Allende and Daniels flanking him. In this territory, he may have more skill, but the two agents definitely had more pull on the manipulative, blackmailing old man. Blunt didn't even bother looking up until the three had taken their seats and Mrs Jones had walked in with the _revised_ contract, courtesy of Rose and Ben.

"Ah, Alex," Blunt said at last, looking up to stare at the boy over the mountains of paperwork present on his desk."

"Mr Blunt, Mrs Jones," Alex greeted politely.

"You have no doubt heard about our proposal to you?" Blunt asked. At the incline of Alex's head, he carried on. "Agents Allende and Daniels have taken it upon themselves to, ah, _improve_ the contract which we had written up. In light of certain...events, we have included these changes."

"The original contract," Mrs Jones carried on for her superior, "Was the same one signed by all Probationary Agents, that is to say, agents who are new to this field. However, as Agents Allende and Daniels were only too keen to point out, you are anything but a PA. Therefore, we have worked together and made the following amendments to your contract, should you wish to sign it.

"First of all, and this was a very firm point which the two agents were adamant on, you will be paid for your services which you provided at age fourteen. The pay will be the usual amount given to Primary Level Agents. You will also be paid for your trip to Australia when you were fifteen, as well as compensated for the time you spent a prisoner to Scorpia when you were sixteen. Furthermore, if you agree to sign the contract, pay for your services will commence at Secondary Level. You will also have the full rights and privileges of a Secondary Level Agent.

"You will be fully covered by life insurance in the event that something does go terribly wrong. We are also willing to send agents to check up on your guardian and close friends for every alternate day you spend on a mission.

"You will be given a minimum of two weeks respite between any mission which you will undertake. However, due to your skill level, your missions will not have a 'safety check' on them. You will also have access to any therapeutic treatments needed, or lawyers but I really hope you won't ever need them, paid for by MI6. In addition, you will be given a month of holiday every year beginning on the 20th of December and ending on the 20th of January. Unless there is an absolute emergency, we will not contact you at all during this holiday period. You may take this holiday at a different time in the year, or choose not to take it at all.

"So Alex, what do you say?"Mrs Jones asked at the end of her monologue.

Alex sat there staring at her. If he had not had his expressions schooled from infancy, he probably would also be gaping at her too. He was in shock. There really was no other word for it. Shock and...well surprise too, that he had friends who would fight so hard for him.

Really, he'd always known that he would end up working for the MI6, and no doubt giving his life up for them too.

"Um..." Alex swallowed, trying to bring some wetness back to his suddenly dry mouth, "Can I talk this over with Rose and Ben?"

"Sure Alex," Mrs Jones nodded, gesturing for the three to go outside.

Alex nodded his thanks, before dragging the other two out and slamming the door shut.

"Did you really do what I think you did for me?" Were the first words out of his mouth.

Rose and Ben exchanged glances. "Um...yeah?" Rose responded, not entirely sure what the question had been in the first place.

Alex stared at her for a very long time, making the woman highly uncomfortable, before the eighteen year old broke out into a massive grin. "Thank you so much!" He whispered, fully aware that Blunt and Jones would be able to hear everything that wasn't spoken softly enough.

"You're welcome...I think."

"Sorry, I must be creeping you out," Alex muttered sheepishly, finally looking away.

"Yeah, you got that right."

"It's just...I don't know. I guess I wasn't really expecting you guys to stick up for me like that."

Ben shrugged while Rose grinned. "What are friends for?"

Alex returned the grin. "Yeah."

"So..." Rose started.

"What are you going to do?" Ben finished for her.

Alex smiled. "I've known ages and ages ago that I would end up working for MI6. Really, even if you guys hadn't changed the contract so much, I would've said yes. But now, I'm _definitely_ saying yes!"

Rose pulled Alex into a hug once she was sure he was absolutely certain about his answer. "No regrets?" She asked to make sure.

Alex grinned. "No regrets."

Ben punched the air. "Alright! We have Mr Superstar working with us, and we know him! Ha, think of the bragging rights we'll get, Rose!" And the man zoned out, a dreamy fog flitting over his eyes.

Rose shook her head, before turning to Alex. "One more thing you should know," she grinned mischievously, sending Alex's stomach churning in dread at what the woman had come up with now, "And it took me hours of pleading before Mrs Jones would agree to this. But anyways...You're my new protégée!"

Those in the lobby of the 'bank' at that moment may well have heard the drawn out "_NOOO_" coming from one of the higher floors. Shrugging, they all went back to their own respective businesses.

.

_Thanks for reading guys!__**  
**_

_Love Chariots99_

_**IMPORTANT P.S.**__–A lot of people have asked me about the title of the previous chapter "Hey Stephen", so I thought I should take a moment to explain. See, this series of one-shots came about when my friend insisted I listen to Taylor Swift's song "Change". While I was doing this, inspiration struck, and I thought "Why don't I base some stories on her song? It'll save me heaps of imagination, since I don't really have too much of that to begin with!" So, that is how these one-shots were born. _

_In essence, the previous chapter was based on her song "Hey Stephen". I thought it would really fit the whole Desiree and Derik scene, since many of you have reservations about the boy. Let me just say that you won't be seeing much more of him...and yes that was foreshadowing...xox_


	9. Fearless

_Warning: there is violence, and there is death, but hopefully it isn't that graphically horrible that it'll give you nightmares. Still, you have been warned..._

**Fearless**

_There's something 'bout the way the street looks when it's just rained; there's a glow off the pavement._

Multiple footsteps echoed down the corridor. They strode past the many cells which lined the entire hallway, ignoring the prisoners, many of whom shrank back from the sound of approaching authorities...or as close to authorities as you can get in the current situation. But they were all in luck; it wasn't their turn yet.

The footsteps paused outside the cell of an eighteen year old prisoner. This particular prisoner intrigued all the 'authorities'. Nothing they did could frighten her, nothing could crack through the barrier she had managed to put between herself and the world. She was something of an enigma.

But today, they had just the thing to break her.

The girl looked up when she heard the rattling of keys. She didn't change her current position though, and remained in a relatively relaxed crouch with her back against the cold wall. The guards entered her cell, seeing the expressionless mask they had become so used to. Cold blue eyes followed their every move, completely devoid of anything and everything. Empty. Dead.

Dried blood matted the girl's blonde hair, which had been cut so that it hung just above her shoulders, tangled and knotted. Bruises, scars and welts littered her arms, body and legs. Blood still seeped through the rags which had once been clothes. Despite all the apparent torture, the girl still didn't cave. It was infuriating. Not to mention a little bit frightening.

"Come one," one of the guards snarled, "We have a little present for you today."

He and the other guard simultaneously grabbed one of the girl's arms each, hauling her starved body to its feet and dragging her out of the cell. The girl didn't put up much of a fight – a week without food had seen to that – but she still did her best to make the guards jobs that little bit harder. She still had her dignity to preserve, after all.

Eventually though, she was dragged into a rather dimly lighted room with concrete floors and a tin roof. There were three people already in the room, two men and one woman. It was before them that she was unceremoniously deposited.

"Ah, Miss Swan, how nice of you to join us."

Desiree lifted her head off the ground and sent the man standing in the middle a blood freezing glare. The man merely chuckled.

"A week without food and yet you still defy us? Well, well, well, they really did train you well didn't they?"

Desiree was going to make some comment or other about how every single psychopathic maniac she'd ever met seemed to enjoy repeating words three times in a row, but she didn't think her excessively dry throat would be able to handle that. Not to mention the fact that she doubted she even had the energy to form those words in the first place. So she settled for shooting the taunting man another one of her famous glares.

Which resulted in another round of patronizing chuckles.

The AIS's unit one had been on a mission two months prior, trying to bust a counterintelligence network that had been operating right under the Government's nose. Neither ASIS nor ASIO, Australia's two officially existing intelligence agencies had been successful, so the Government had called on the AIS, relying on Australia's best intelligence service to get the job done. Unfortunately, unit one had been so busy working their way up the counterintelligence hierarchy that for one recklessly minute moment, they forgot to watch their backs.

Until there was a knife in it.

It had been a cowardly thing to do, a desperate last attempt by the counterintelligence to protect their network. And it had resulted in a seriously wounded Jake, an unconscious Terry, Dean tottering on the verge of death, and Desiree being dragged away at gun point when AIS backup had arrived.

In the three weeks since their informant had squealed to the opposing side, the man at the top of the counterintelligence network had hounded Desiree over and over for the amount of information they'd managed to gather before things had gone wrong. And each time, the girl had resisted their attempts, no matter how cruel, how painful, how inhumane.

_Until now_, the leader of the counterintelligence, Neal Linear, thought with a sadistic smile as he gazed at the feeble looking girl lying at his feet.

"Miss Swan, if I must say myself, you do look unflatteringly thin," Neal sneered. Flanking him, his second and third in command chuckled, "Perhaps you would like something to eat?"

The doors opened again, and the tantalizing smell of roast with potato and gravy drifted into the room before the guard even came into sight, holding a tray with the roast cut up into tiny pieces in order to increase the effect of the smell. The tray was handed to Neal before the guard left again, closing the door behind him.

Neal set the plate on the ground, just out of reach of Desiree's crumpled form. "Well, well, well, what have we here? Looks like a _delicious_ lunch, don't you think Miss Swan?"

Desiree glared at the man with hate filled eyes. She had known, a week ago when the order had been given to stop feeding her, that food was going to be a majorly tempting trigger, the weak crack in the wall she'd built up around herself. At that moment though, she was starving. If they'd only put the plate slightly closer!

Without thinking, she reached out slowly towards the food. Her hand trembled though, when she realised that it was most definitely out of range. The girl bit her lip to stop herself crying. God, she was just so _hungry_.

"I would give you this food, Swannie," Neal grinned, watching her feeble struggles to stop herself from responding, "After all, I couldn't possibly eat this all by myself!"

He picked up a slice of the tender meat, and waved it towards the girl, whose cold blue eyes flickered slightly as she struggled not to focus on the food. She failed miserably.

Reaching out a shaking hand, the girl reached for the roast again. She was so close, _so close_, before Neal snatched it back again. This time, Dessi couldn't help the whimper that came out of her mouth. Neal grinned at the sound. They were so close...

"Tell you what, if you give us one piece of information, I'll give you a piece of this delicious roast. Hm?"

Desiree groaned out loud. She wanted...no, she _needed _the food! But, she couldn't...

Against her will, her head slowly nodded and she licked her lips. Casting her mind around, she picked and disregarded pieces of information until she found one that was so useless it was almost irrelevant.

"Ro –" she broke off in a coughing fit. Her voice was hoarse from its unused. Swallowing, she tried again. "Robertson," she whispered, "Snitch."

Peter Robertson was the man who'd been their informant before he'd given them up to Neal and his crew. Prior to that, he'd been working for Neal, before he turned snitch. Dessi had no idea what had made him turn back.

Neal growled under his breath. He knew that Robertson had been a snitch. He found the man out himself, passing information onto the AIS. The man had told him where the unit could be found in a desperate attempt to save his traitorous life. He'd failed miserably. And his body would be forever a warning for the rest of Neal's counterintelligence agents.

Huffing slightly, Neal allowed his prisoner to take the tiny morsel of food from his hands watching as she devoured it with an almost animalistic need. But he had to give the girl the food, to show that he could be trusted. Humans were, after all, merely animals when all else had been stripped away.

However, that move had been a wrong one. It seemed that once the girl swallowed the morsel of food, she closed off again. No amount of tempting, or threatening, could get her to say anything else. Finally, Neal had to admit defeat. His second and third in commands were glaring at the girl in frustration, but he still had one last trick up his sleeve.

"Well then Swannie, I guess we'll just have to bring our guest in. See if he can tempt some answers out of you!" Neal turned towards the door with a yell of "Bring him in!"

The door flung open again to reveal two guards wrestling someone into the room, with a bag over their head to cover their face. The hostage put up a great fight, shouting and cursing at the guards while writhing around, trying to break free. Desiree looked on with increasing horror, her heart sinking to a level she hadn't thought was possible. _I know that voice..._

The hostage was dumped to the ground, before the bag was ripped off his head. And in that moment, Desiree's heart began to break.

Derik Wilkes looked around, blinking rapidly to refocus his eyes. The first thing he saw was Desiree.

"Des-des! What are you...what's going on...why are we...you look horrible," he finally said, after taking in the starved, beaten frame of his girlfriend.

Desiree meanwhile had turned her attention back to Neal. "No, let him go!" she pleaded in a hoarse voice, wincing slightly from the pain of speech, "This is between you and me! He has no part in this!"

"Ah, on the contrary though, when the government decides to meddle in things that are not their business, _everyone_ is part of it whether they like it or not," Neal smirked.

Derik frowned at the man, confused. "Dessi? What's she got to do with the government?"

If at all possible, Neal's face brightened even more. "You mean, you didn't tell him?" He asked Desiree, who was silently begging him to stop.

"What? Tell me what? Dessi?" Derik looked around at the girl, who's blue eyes were overly bright with unshed tears.

"Well, isn't this fun! We can all learn a little about everyone! I'll go first," Neal smirked, "You boy, guess what? You're girlfriend is a spy."

There was a shocked silence, well on Derik's part anyway. Dessi was currently avoiding his eyes, looking down at the ground in shame. He took that to be confirmation.

"And guess what else?" Neal went on in his sadistic moment, "You're here because of her! Isn't it great?"

"Dessi?" Derik whispered softly, not quite past his shock. Desiree flinched at his tone, looking up at him with miserable eyes.

The next moment, Neal had drawn a gun, taken it off safety, and pushed it right next to Derik's head. "Enough games," he spat, "Swannie, if you start telling me answers by the time I count to five, he's not going to be leaving the room alive."

Desiree shook her head. "No," she whispered.

"Five"

Derik's temper flared like it always did when he was scared. And right now, he was scared enough to wet his pants. "Say something!" He shouted, causing the girl to flinch at his tone.

"I...I can't," she whispered, tears slowly escaping her eyes.

"Four"

"WHAT? You're just going to let me die?"

"No, _no, no!_ Please, don't" Desiree begged Neal.

"Three. Better start talking soon!" Came the taunt.

"Desiree!"

"I...I'm sorry!" Desiree choked out, "I never wanted...I thought you'd be better off not knowing!"

"Two."

"Well right now," Derik said, his voice cold. Fear, pure undiluted fear haunted his eyes. He didn't want to die. Not like this. "Right now, I wish I never knew you!"

Desiree flinched, shrinking back slightly. She shook her head, tears falling hard and fast from her eyes.

"I hate you!" Derik shouted.

"One."

The trigger pulled with an echoing bang.

_I don't know why, but with you I'd dance in a storm, in my best dress._

_Fearless._

.:X:.

_OMG! I killed someone off! Well, rest assured Alex/Dessi fans that Desiree will no longer be going out with Derik. May he rest in peace._

_Thanks to all my reviewers so far! And thanks for reading!_

_Love Chariots99_


	10. Jump then Fall

**Jump then Fall**

_When people say things that bring you to your knees, I'll catch you_

Perhaps the first sign about Rose's boyfriend being a manipulative bastard should have come from the fact that his first name was Alan. Alan Atros. The only Alan which Rose had ever met in her life was Alan Blunt, the head of the Special Operations of MI6. And look at what a heartless, blackmailing, lifeless jerk he was.

Perhaps the second sign that Alan was a conniving git was the fact that his last name was Atros. Atros, the accusative form of the Latin word "atrox" meaning "cruel". But then again, in this day and age who knew even two words in the dead language?

Perhaps the third sign that Alan Atros was a sorry excuse for a human being should have come from the way his eyes always seemed to linger on other women, those whom he had no right to look at in that way. He was, after all, not dating any of them.

But, even so, it took Rose Allende, the youngest MI6 agent before Alex, quite a while to figure out that the sneaky, sly, _stupid_ boyfriend of hers was not as perfect as he seemed. Oh sure, he had the looks and the charms, but inside he was just a shrivelled black soul who delighted in making the life of those around him as miserable as possible.

Of course when Rose had found out, the backlash had been massive.

Messing around with a MI6 agent who was able to kill you in twelve different ways without leaving any forensic evidence, who was trained to extract the most delicate pieces of information from the mouth of the tightest lips, who could shoot a sniper with eighty seven percent accuracy from a two hundred and fifty metre radius, was not a smart idea.

Alan Atros learnt that the hard way.

He is still in hospital in the intensive treatment ward. He'll probably be there for a while, especially after all the other women take out their revenge too. But still, beating the crap out of someone doesn't heal the hole they left inside your heart.

It's now three weeks after Rose landed her ex-boyfriend in hospital, and Alex was getting really worried. The woman, to whom he was protégée, had simply not been herself at work. Coming late, zoning out, not eating. Even giving Alex _breaks_ when she'd convinced him previously that she didn't even know the meaning of that word.

It had been nine months since that fateful Friday when Alex had signed the MI6 contract. If he was completely honest, he rather enjoyed the work. There weren't as many missions, though there was a lot more paperwork. Mountains of that stuff. And, Rose being the slightly sadistic woman she was, had grinned evilly at Alex before shoving her own paperwork at him too. And yet people often wondered why he constantly complained about being the "fun-loving, happy and cheerful" woman's protégée. She was _not_ fun-loving or happy. She was highly sadistic, and revelled in Alex's pain. Or at least, that was his view.

So it had been a great shock to walk into the office two days after Rose's breakup to see the woman doing her own paperwork. And while it had been nice for the first two hours, Alex soon got extremely worried.

And now, three weeks later, he was bordering on having an anxiety attack.

Agent Ben Daniels had tried his best to talk his former protégée out of her slump; he was, after all, far better acquainted with Rose. But so far, the man was not having much luck. He'd even gone to his wife for advice, but nothing seemed to work with getting Rose out of her head.

Which was why he, Alex, Jack, Tom and Sabina were now grouped together at the entrance to the bank, MI6 headquarters in disguise. The five of them were waiting for Rose to come out so that they could corner the woman, perhaps kidnap her, and drag her back to Alex's house to figure out how to get her out of her hole.

The plan however, hadn't been as well thought out as they had thought. For one thing, they'd forgotten how suspicious it looked for five people to be constantly hanging around the entrance to an intelligence service – the guards at the bank had thrown them wary glances every ten seconds in the first hour, and it was only after Alex and Ben had flashed their MI6 badges that they'd prevented the guards from either arresting the five of them, or shooting them first and asking questions later.

The second part of the not-well-thought-out plan was the misjudgement of time that had led to the aforementioned suspicious guards. They'd forgotten the fact that Rose now came out of her office hours later than she normally would, almost as if she was dreading facing the outside world. As a result, the five of them ended up waiting outside the bank for five and a half hours, getting severely bored. By the time Rose finally showed up, the sky had already darkened.

Alex and Ben each grabbed one of the woman's arms and, without waiting to hear her surprised complaints, dragged her bodily into the car. Jack pulled out of their parking spot as soon as the doors had shut. Tom and Sabina helped to buckle Rose's seatbelt, while the woman tried to fight off the two highly disgruntled MI6 agents.

It was a relief for both parties involved in the back seat struggle when Jack finally pulled into the garage. Rose was immediately dragged out of the back of the car by Alex and Ben, despite her protests of being able to walk, while Tom and Sabina followed with amused smiles on their faces. Jack just rolled her eyes and left for the kitchen to start making dinner.

Rose was dumped rather unceremoniously on the living room couch, with Alex and Ben flanking the woman either side while Tom and Sabina each pulled up chairs on the sideline. They didn't want to get too involved...just in case.

"Alright Rose," Ben started, "What's wrong with you?"

Rose stared at the man rather incredulously. "You kidnap me, force me into the car and drag me into Alex's house, and you're asking what's wrong with _me_?"

"Yes."

"You're crazy."

"Look Rose," Alex intervened, "We're just worried. You haven't been yourself for weeks and, well, we miss the old Rose."

"So instead of just asking me outright, you decide to kidnap me instead?"

"Rose! Just answer the bloody question!"

"Don't take that tone with me!"

"Don't take that tone with _me_!" Ben countered.

Rose glowered at the man. "Why are you doing this to me?" She cried. "What did I ever do to you?"

"Rosalinda Charlotte Allende! Answer the freaking question or so help me God, I will kick your ass into next week during training tomorrow!" Ben almost shouted. Alex, Tom and Sabina stared at the man in shock – none of them had seen him lose it before.

Having spent a while as the man's protégée however, Rose had. And she knew that when Ben used her full name, it was time to back down. Well, the guy _did_ carry a gun on his person. She was merely showing signs of self preservation...not cowardliness.

"Alright," she sighed, "So maybe I was a _bit_ off these past few weeks..."

"A bit?" Tom asked wryly, "Rose, I dumped my entire plate of spaghetti on you last week and you didn't even bat an eyelid."

"Yeah," Alex piped up, "I mean, even _Ben_ could see that he did it on purpose–"

Ben growled slightly. "Watch it, kid," he warned.

Alex ignored the guy. "Normally you would've either started yelling loudly enough to burst our eardrums, or broken his nose. But...I don't think you even realised it."

Rose rolled her eyes, before sighing again rather glumly. "I'm just really pre-occupied. Lately, all I've been able to think about is the breakup. And that pathetic excuse for a guy. He...he said some things before I broke his wrist...and..." Rose broke off.

"And..." Sabina said softly.

"And...well...I didn't want to believe some of the things he said. I _don't_ want to believe what he said. But...I just can't help but replay that scene over and over again in my head."

"What did he say to you?" Alex asked, causing Rose to snort.

"Like I'm going to repeat it to your innocent ears."

"What did he say?" Ben asked, grinning evilly at the three teenagers when Rose leaned over to whisper in his ear. His grin quickly vanished, however, to be replaced by a look of pure loathing and anger. "That bastard! I'm going to kill him! How dare he–"

"Now you see why I was so upset," Rose smiled tightly. Ben merely growled in response, cracking his knuckles as if contemplating whether it would be more beneficial to comfort Rose or to make sure Alan Atros stayed in hospital for another ten years.

Alex leaned over to Sabina. "From that reaction, I don't think I want to know what that guy said," he whispered. Sabina nodded vigorously in agreement, her eyes wide with fright.

"Kids," Ben said rather harshly, "Could you give us a moment please?"

Alex, Tom and Sabina shared a look before they nodded at the man. On their way out, Sabina went over to Rose and pulled the surprised woman into a hug.

"Rose, I just want you to know that we're here for you. All of us," she added, glancing over at Alex and Tom who both nodded rather solemnly, "If you need anything, a shoulder to cry on, someone to kill your ex for you, don't hesitate to ask."

Rose smiled a real smile, the one which no-one had seen for ages. "Thanks," she whispered.

Sabina nodded and smiled in return, before turning and ushering the boys out of the room, closing the door for privacy. Or to block out any noise.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Alex asked, slinging an arm around Sabina's waist.

Before either Sabina or Tom could give their opinion, loud voices began shouting swear words, death threats and God knows what else on the other side of the door. It was a good thing that the door was closed, otherwise the three would've probably lost their sense of hearing.

Tom winced slightly. "I think they'll be fine."

The three entered the kitchen to see Jack looking in their direction rather worriedly. Seeing the three enter, she tossed them a questioning look, to which Alex replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

They each helped themselves to a glass of juice, before down sitting at the table, readying themselves for the long wait. They spent the next ten minutes in silence, sipping on their juice and listening to snatches of the shouting that was still coming from the living room.

At last, they all heard the door open. Spinning around, they saw Rose and Ben enter, both looking rather worn out from all the shouting. When they spoke, the four could hear the hoarseness in their voices.

Rose looked much better as she and Ben sat down with the four. Sure, you could still see the sadness and anger lingering just behind her calmer exterior facade. But now her smiles, no matter how small, were reaching her eyes again. She laughed too; softly yes, but it was a start. And when Jack invited her and Ben to stay for dinner, she accepted for the first time in weeks.

Just as Jack stood up from the table to make one of her famous fast feasts, Rose and Tom made eye contact. Something in Rose's mind clicked, and her eyes widened in realisation.

"You dumped spaghetti on me _on purpose!" _She exclaimed.

In the next minute, Alex had pulled Sabina onto his lap, away from Tom as Rose lunged across the table for the boy. Tom barely managed to somehow get out of reach, almost falling off his chair in the process. He sprinted out of the kitchen, Rose hot on his heels.

Sure, she still hurt. It would be a long time before she stopped hurting. But now, she was on the way to mending.

.:X:.

_Love Chariots99_


	11. Come in with the Rain

Come in with the Rain

_I could go back to every laugh, but I don't wanna go there anymore_

_And I know all the steps up to your door, but I don't wanna go there anymore._

Terry and Dean peaked into Desiree's room to see the girl lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling with unblinking eyes that were focused on a different reality to the one in which they were currently living. The two men exchanged worried looks, before moving away from her room.

It had been almost seven months since the death of Derik Wilkes. It had taken Terry and Jake three months to coax the girl out of her self induced depression, though that hadn't done much since she had sunk back into it the next day. It had taken Unit One four of those seven months to convince Desiree to eat a proper meal before she starved herself to death. It had taken the unit five months to find out what happened on that fateful day.

It had taken _six months_ to figure out that their youngest unit member was suffering from the guilt she felt at being the cause of somebody else's death. And no matter how many times people said that it wasn't her fault, she knew better.

The director of the AIS had even dropped by...well, after Jake went and got into a shouting match with the man anyway. He informed the girl that after being yelled at by his best agent, he'd changed the binding clause from every agent's contract so that under extreme circumstances, they were now free to divulge any information necessary in order to obtain the freedom of any hostages. The entire unit had figured that it only applied to other "innocent" lives, and not their own. Almost as one, they all rolled their eyes. The people they worked for were _so_ compared for their welfare (insert massive sarcasm here).

Terry sighed, causing Dean to look over at him. "We should go get Jake," he said. Dean blinked and nodded, before feeling like he should change the subject.

"So...um," he glanced around, trying to find something else to talk about. Just as they were walking out of the DB, a man came walking in. He looked about twenty-five, with blonde hair, grey eyes, and a well built body. As he passed the two men, he greeted them with a smile.

"Terry. Dean. Good to see you on your feet again buddy," he said, clapping Dean on his shoulder.

"Thanks Charles," Dean grinned. Charles nodded at them, before ascending the stairs of he DB. Dean turned to Terry with a puzzled look on his face.

"I thought Charles is in Unit Two?"

"Well..." Terry shifted rather uncomfortably, "He _was_ in Unit Two."

Dean raised an eyebrow, before understanding flashed across his eyes. "He's my replacement, isn't he?"

Terry sighed, before nodding.

After the mission in which Derik Wilkes had been killed had gone severely wrong, Dean had found himself lying on his death bed. It was really a miracle he survived. But after that, the doctors had told him that it would be best if he didn't return to the field, as the damage done to his spinal cord had limited his ability to react to high adrenaline situations. After talking to his wife and kids about it, Dean had handed in his resignation.

"The director shuffled around all the units quite a bit afterwards," Terry explained as the two set off to find Jake, "And Charles got moved up into our unit."

"Do you guys get along okay?"

Terry shrugged. "He gets along with me and Jake fine. But he has some problem with Dessi. I don't know what, but he's always picking on her and it drives me mental. You should have seen the argument him and Jake got into the other day during training – man, that was _epic_."

Dean let out a snort. "Yeah, Jake's _really_ overprotective of that girl. You know, if it weren't for is constant denial, I'd say he was in love with her."

Terry raised his eyebrow at him. "If he was in love with her, why did he let her go off with Derik that day in the shopping centre?"

"He probably didn't realise he'd ask her out. Don't you remember that hissy fit he threw after she told him?"

There was a small silence as Terry contemplated this, before he ended it with a shudder. "This is just too weird to think about."

Dean grinned.

"Dean! OI Dean!"

The two spun around to see Jake running towards them, a grin on his face.

"Man, I haven't seen you in ages!" Jake exclaimed, clapping his former team mate on the shoulder. "How's everything going?"

"Everything's good," Dean smiled, "Actually, we were just coming to get you. We need to talk to you about something."

"What about?"

"Desiree," Terry said, "She's not doing any better. Last we saw, she's lying on her bed, staring at nothing."

Jake sighed, worry flickering behind his eyes. He ran his hand through his hair, before nodding. "Okay, I'll take care of it. Nice to see you again Dean. Take care. Terry, I want to see you on the shooting range in thirty minutes." And with that, Jake ran off towards the DB.

Terry and Dean exchanged wry grins. "Well, he hasn't changed," Dean said as they set off again.

Jake ran up the stairs of the DB, passing Charles on the way to tell him to leave for the shooting range. The man obeyed with haste. Jake took a deep breath before pushing open the unlocked door to Desiree's room.

The girl had fallen asleep in the time it took for Jake to arrive. She was currently tossing around slightly, muttering something under her breath. Jake entered her room, moving over to her bed to sit on it.

"No...Derik...no...please," Desiree murmured, her voice becoming slightly more frantic as she began to toss and turn more earnestly.

"Desiree, Dessi, wake up," Jake said, trying to restrain her.

"No, Derik! No...please!" Jake let go when it became obvious that holding her down was making nightmare worse.

"Desiree! Wake up!"

"...please...Derik, please...no..."

"Dessi! Wake up!" Jake shouted, roughly shaking the girl by her shoulders. Though she didn't wake, it did cause her to settle down a little.

"...please...no..." she murmured before her face screwed up slightly in confusion. "..Wha-?...Alex?"

Jake froze. It had been a couple of years since he'd last heard that name. Heck, he'd even forgotten about the boy. What on earth could cause the boy to appear in Desiree's nightmare? What the _hell_ is going on?

"Alex...help me...Alex," Dessi's voice trailed off.

"...please...Derik, please...no..._no_..._NO!"_ The girl screamed out.

She sat up very suddenly. Unprepared, Jake didn't move out of the way fast enough. The result was her head colliding with his rather ill-placed shoulder. A weak and muffled _"ow"_ could be heard, causing Jake to chuckle softly before wrapping his arms around the girl, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Jake?" Dessi said softly, her voice still muffled by his shirt, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm very well, thank you for asking," Jake replied, resting his cheek on the top of her head, "And how are you?"

"Jake..." Desiree trailed off warningly, and even if her voice was muffled and still laced with sleep, the dangerous tone underlying his name was enough to cause his heart to beat faster in fear.

"Okay, okay," Jake said, "You were having a nightmare. Again."

"And you decided to wake me up by bashing my head against your shoulder?"

"Hey, that wasn't my fault! You sat up too fast!"

"It still wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been in the way, would it?"

"No," Jake conceded, "I suppose not."

Jake felt Desiree shift slightly, before pulling out of his arms. A second later, he was staring into her crystal blue eyes, laced with worry, confusion and guilt. She smiled slightly at him, moving to get out of bed before Jake stopped her with a gentle finger under her chin.

He didn't know what made him do it. He supposed that all the emotions he'd been repressing for years just erupted. Unusually for him, he never even stopped to think of the consequences. Later, he'd be so consumed by guilt that it would be ages until he'd be able to look into her eyes.

Jake leaned forwards and pressed his lips gently against Desiree's.

A second later, there was a sharp sting on the side of his cheek, causing him to fly sideways and tumble out of Desiree's bed. Looking up, he met cold blue eyes that were filled with anger.

"I can't believe you just did that, you insensitive bastard!" Desiree shouted, before turning on her heels and storming out of her room, leaving behind the unit leader to caress his red, inflamed cheek. Jake sat up with a soft groan, staring after the girl as his mind replaying the anger in her eyes, the pain of the slap, the hurt of the rejection and...

...and the single tear that had glided down her cheek.

.:X:.

_Rejected much? I honestly never thought about the possibility of Jake being in love with Dessi, but then I went back over previous stories and I thought, yeah, he's too protective, too worried about Dessi. And so, this twist!_

_Thanks to all my reviewers!_

_Love Chariots99_


	12. The Way I Loved You

**The Way I Loved You**

_I'll miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain._

In Australia, the weather must be just reaching winter.

Alex sighed as the random thought filtered through his head. In England though, they were in the midst of summer. It wasn't particularly hot yet, but you could feel it in the air. And when the sun came out, there was too much warmth for comfort.

Alex and his best friend Tom were over at Sabina's house. She and Alex had broken up in April, after deciding that they simply weren't meant to be anything more than good friends. And good friends they were.

Now, two and a bit months later, they were as close as ever. Just, not in that way...

"Sabina! Darling, our ride is almost here! Have you finished packing yet?"

Sabina turned from her place by the window to shout in the general direction of the door: "Mum! I finished packing last night! Now would you _please_ leave me alone!"

Alex and Tom heard Mrs Pleasure sigh before walking away, no doubt to berate Sabina's father for leaving some valuable piece of rubbish unpacked. She'd been doing that on and off for the past few days.

Yes, Sabina was officially moving away. When she originally came back to England two or so years ago, her parents had decided to settle down for a while and have some semblance of normality in their over-travelled lives. And so their few month holiday ended up being a two year stay.

However, a few weeks ago, Mr Pleasure had received an offer which neither he nor his wife could in their right minds refuse. And so, the family were packing again, ready to leave for New Zealand.

To say that Sabina was excited would be an understatement. The very well travelled girl had never been to New Zealand. She'd heard all about the natural beauty there though, and was extremely excited to be able to witness it for herself.

However, she was also highly depressed over leaving Alex, Tom, Rose, Ben and Jack. So much so that there were times, especially in the last few days, in which she would burst into tears whenever she saw any of the five aforementioned people.

This made for extremely awkward conversations. Rose and Ben had deigned to stay out of Sabina's way. Jack, well, she never really hung out with Sabina before, so there was no reason to start now. Tom and Alex on the other hand...

The two boys were never sure if they would catch Sabina in a happy or depressed mode. Hell, sometimes she could be _both_ at the same freakin' time! They could honestly say that it was worse than dealing with mood-swinging PMSing girls.

At the current moment in time, Sabina seemed to have developed a third emotion: nostalgia.

"Remember when we built that snowman, right there?" She sighed, staring out the window of her now extremely bare room. "And then it collapsed on Ben and almost knocked him out?"

Tom and Alex exchanged glances from their position on the floor. They still weren't used to dealing with the current Sabina. Especially when she sprung new moods on them. Nervously, not wanting to set the girl off, both boys nodded their head.

Sabina never saw the nods; she was still staring out the window.

It was her mum who broke the silence again. "Sabina! Our ride's arrived!"

Promptly Sabina burst into tears. Startled, Alex and Tom both leapt to their feet, before glancing at each other again. They slowly approached Sabina, before awkwardly patting her shoulder. If either Rose or Jack had been there, they would've bashed the two boys' heads together for their failed effort.

Mere minutes later, Sabina had calmed down. An excited gleam could be seen in her eyes as she grabbed her two bags, wrestling them away from Alex and Tom who had offered to carry them for her. All the way down the stairs, she was chatting excitedly about mountains, green pastures, blue lakes and God knows what else. As much as they loved the girl, neither Tom nor Alex knew how much more they could take.

Waiting outside the house for them was a seven seater, with Rose at the wheel. Ben was sitting rather sulkily in the passenger seat; it was quite obvious the two had fought over who would be driver. In the first row, already seated, were Sabina's parents and Jack.

Sabina broke down into tears again, causing Alex and Tom both to sigh before bodily lifting the girl into the car where her parents tried to comfort her.

As he passed Rose, Alex muttered to her under his breath: "And we _just_ got her calmed down!"

Tom hauled Sabina's bags into the back of the large vehicle, before the two boys climbed into the back. Sabina was already seated and, thank the Lord, calm again. Well, as calm as one could be when they were chattering non-stop about the crystal lakes of New Zealand.

_Finally _they arrived at the international airport. It had to be a record – no-one was injured, and neither Tom nor Alex had lost their minds.

After an hour filled with calming Sabina down, checking in, trying to stop Sabina from crying, finding trolleys, keeping Sabina away from sugar, and wheeling their on board luggage to their gate, it was time to say goodbye.

Sabina was in tears; she flung herself onto Alex and broke down on his shoulder. For his part, the fearless MI6 agent awkwardly patted the girl on her back, shooting desperate looks at Ben and Rose that clearly screamed "_HELP ME!"_

Eventually, Sabina recovered enough to pull Tom into a hug, where she once again burst into another round of tears.

By the time she reached Jack, Rose and Ben, she was all cried out. Still, didn't stop her from giving each adult a hug and thanking them for their friendship. With a final group hug, a teary sniff and a watery smile, Sabina led her parents through the airport gate, ready for departure. As she was just about to board the plane, Sabina turned around once more.

Behind her, their arms draping over each other's shoulders or interlinked somehow, Alex, Tom, Rose, Ben and Jack watched the girl depart. Seeing her turn back, they all waved goodbye. Sabina returned the wave, before stepping out into the unknown.

___To my anonymous reviewer __**Hlinky Pink the Third.**__ First of all, how dare you make me type hat name! Lol, I'd like thank you for writing the most hilarious anonymous review I've ever had. The format of your review was also really interesting. I'm also really glad that you think my story is...ah "trippin'". Thanks for your review!_


	13. Change

_Lol, quite a few people have asked me about my gender, or have mistaken me as being a boy. Let's clear things up. I'm a girl. Most definitely and undeniably a girl. Or at least I was the last time I checked._

**Change**

_So we've been outnumbered, raided and now cornered, it's hard to fight when the fight ain't fair._

"We've been compromised! Get out, get out!" Jake roared into his throat mic. Through their earpieces they could hear the other two back-up units scrambling away from their current positions, getting to safety. Jake looked down at Desiree.

The girl held her gun at her side in tense hands. She kept peeking out from behind the wall which they'd sought relative safety behind. Sensing that she was wanted, Desiree turned her crystal blue eyes up to meet Jake's gaze.

"We're not going to make it out, are we?" She whispered. There was no fear in her eyes, only acceptance.

Jake shook his head grimly. "There's a good chance we won't. Especially not if we stay together..."

Dessi's eyes widened, anger flashing behind those cool blue depths. "I'm not leaving you behind!" She hissed hotly.

"You don't have a choice. Any moment now, they're going to find us. If you don't get the bomb in place, this mission will have been for nothing."

"Jake, that's suicide!" Desiree glared at her field partner. "You can't expect me to just leave you here and –"

"That's an order, Agent Swan," Jake hissed. Desiree paled.

Multiple gunshots sounded from the doorway, far too close for comfort. Jake glared at Desiree, doing his best to hide his own fear. He just needed to make sure that she got away safely. He _had_ to make sure of that. Even if it was the last thing he did.

"You can't expect me to just _go,_" Dessi said, her eyes sparkling more than usual, "I can't...I can't lose another...not now...not so soon..."

"Dessi, look at me," Jake said gently. When the girl refused he sighed, before cupping the girl's chin in his hand and forcing her to look up at him. "I don't like this anymore than you do, but someone has to detonate that bomb. I don't know how to. You're the only one who does. Please, Dessi."

The girl blinked several times, but she couldn't hold back the few stray tears that escaped from her eyes. Wet trails appeared down her face, before they were gently wiped away by Jake.

"Dessi?" The boy whispered.

Desiree sniffed softly, jerking her head away from Jake's touch before rubbing her eyes. The gunshots had closed in, and with it came the sound of loud shouts, ordering them to step away from the main controls.

"Dessi?" Jake whispered again, crouching down slightly so that he could see into the girl's eyes.

Desiree glared at him, holding his gaze, before she threw her arms around him in an uncharacteristic hug. Jake tightened his own arms around the girl, unable to stop the few tears from leaving his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Desiree whispered, her face buried into Jake's shoulder. The man knew at once that she was talking about the kiss.

He sighed. "Me too." _I didn't mean to push you_, he mentally added. Jake could feel Desiree nod into his shoulder before she pulled away, meeting his eyes with her own.

The shouting had grown louder. Bullets now rained against the wall which they'd sought safety behind. Bits of the wall started coming loose, causing the girl to flinch slightly as they showered down upon the two.

Desiree glanced back in the direction of the deadly gunfire, before turning to Jake again. She pushed her gun into his hand, knowing he'd need it more than her. Before Jake knew what was happening, she'd reached up and pressed her lips against his. Then she whispered something for his ears only, something he'd wanted to hear for almost all of his short life.

The girl left almost like a ghost, darting away while she could. Leaving Jake to fend for himself. Tears trailed down her cheeks as she rushed into the control room, slamming the door shut to buy more time if needed. And to try and block out the noise of the fierce gun battle.

Desiree pulled out the tiny bomb, placing it carefully under the main controls before detonating it with a series of complex manoeuvres.

_Five seconds until detonation_.

Jake's screams echoed down the hallway, screams of a dying man. Desiree paused, throwing a desperate glance backwards, torn between disregarding orders and going back, or fulfilling Jake's wishes and getting out.

_Two seconds until detonation._

The girl swore. Shut her eyes and whispered an apology to her leader, her best friend. Her family. Her partner.

Bare moments before the bomb detonated, she threw herself out the window, the glass shattering in all directions. A fireball erupted behind her, chasing the girl all the way down to her descent into unconsciousness. The explosion ripped right throughout the building, completely destroying the control room, the men who'd tried to protect it, and Jake's already dead body.

However, when the back-up units came with a pack of ambulances to find Desiree's unconscious body lying on the ground, something still lingered in the air. Soft words, spoken just moments before death, hung in the still air, echoing across the charred remains of the factory. Protecting the body of the one who'd given up his life to save hers.

_I love you_.

.:X:.

_* Author hides in the corner, whimpering*._

_Please don't kill me for killing Jake! It was never meant to end this way! *Ducks several rotten tomatoes aimed at author's head*_

_I know this was a short chapter, but I'm hoping emotional impact will outweigh word count..._

_Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. I'm a little insecure over here..._

_Love Chariots99_


	14. Breathe

**Breathe**

_I can't breathe, without you._

It was a sullen grey day. The heavens had opened (rather unusually for Australia in February); they too were weeping for the loss of Jacob Wood. The funeral was rather poorly attended. Only Jake's closest family were there. Along with the director of the AIS, and half of Jake's old unit.

Terry sighed, tuning out of what the priest was saying over Jake's coffin. It had surprised him beyond the ordinary realm of surprises to learn that Jake's family had been deeply religious. He couldn't remember which religion it was, though. It was merely highly ironic for Jake to be raised in such a family, then spend the rest of his life killing people. For a good cause, of course, but still...

Dean turned his head slightly, glancing at the man who had for so long been his field partner. Catching Terry's eyes, he nodded once, signalling for them to approach the hole where Jake's coffin was currently being lowered into.

With slow steps, the two walked up to the tomb just as the coffin reached the end of the hole with a soft, final thud.

Jake's family cried for him. They knelt beside the hole, throwing handfuls of colourful flower petals. Jake's younger sister sobbed for her brother, reaching down towards the coffin as if she could bring its contents back to life. Jake's mum had to be forcibly restrained so that she didn't jump into the hole to join her oldest child.

Terry blinked rapidly as he and Dean also knelt down on the soft grass beside the open hole. They made sure to keep some distance between themselves and the Woods; he was their son, their brother, and Terry and Dean were merely intruders in their family.

Dean reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket, pulling out a sky blue envelope. Inside it, he'd sealed a last letter of thanks, a final photo of friendship between himself, Jake, Terry and Desiree Swan, and a final wish of luck for whatever lay ahead for the brave young man. The envelope fluttered down into the hole until it landed amidst the bed of flower petals covering the handsome chestnut coffin.

Terry's last goodbye was already clenched tight in his fist.

"Jake," he whispered, his voice broken, "I...I never thought you'd be the first. I always thought that place would be reserved for Dean."

Beside him, Dean smiled sadly and shook his head. He'd thought so too, after he was that much older than everyone else on his unit had been. Older, and thus slower.

Terry coughed slightly to get rid of the lump forming in his throat. "I'm sorry, Jake. I'm sorry I keep making fun about you, and your pushiness, and your grandma driving skills..."

"Not to mention those really bad jokes you tell," Dean added, whispering down at the coffin.

"Yeah, and those evening jogs that I thought I would come back and join you on," Terry continued, swiping the back of his hand across his face to get rid of the tears. Terry had resigned from the AIS a couple of months after Dean. Put simply, his body could not take any more excessive training, nor the stress from missions and potential death.

Terry sighed shakily, "I...I'm sorry I was always such a pain, Jake. And I'm sorry about that time when I mixed colour into your shampoo. Though, you did look rather amusing walking around with blue hair."

Dean smiled slightly at the memory.

"I guess, what I'm really trying to say, is that I'm going to miss you. I'm going to miss the way I can talk to you about anything and everything. The way you're always there for me...heck, for _us_. For everyone. You seem to just...just be able to drop whatever you're doing and just sit there and listen to me prattle on and on about thermodynamics, or Dean when he prattles on and on about his family, or Desiree –"

Terry's voice broke off, new tears streaming faster and faster down his face. Dean buried his face in his hands.

"Oh God, Jake," Terry whispered, "Desiree..."

"We tried Jake, we really did," Dean said softly, "But nothing we said..."

Terry sighed. "They just wouldn't listen. _He_ just wouldn't listen. '_We have better uses for Agent Swan's talents than letting her go to some funeral'_," he imitated in an extremely high voice, "Good thing Dean was there or else I'd have totally lost it...well, more than I already did. You know how I get."

There was a pause in which the two men realised that they were the only ones left kneeling beside Jake's final resting spot. His family appeared to have already left, along with the director of the AIS whom Terry had been imitating only moments before.

"She's on a mission," Dean whispered, finally breaking the silence, "They sent her out early this morning. They wouldn't even postpone her departure for _two freakin' hours_!" He sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. "You should've seen it Jake; Terry looked ready to punch the director's nose in."

Terry snorted. "I would've done it if Dean hadn't been in the way."

"I couldn't let you get arrested now, could I?" Dean said, rather amused, "We no longer have contacts in high places to get you out."

The two fell into a soft silence, listening to the rain. They didn't notice themselves getting drenched.

Finally, Dean broke the silence. "We're really gonna miss you, mate."

"Yeah. Thanks Jake, thanks for everything," Terry added as the two men stood up. "We wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you. I hope you know how grateful we are."

Terry extended his hand, in which his goodbye was still clenched. "We figured it out Jake. Why you were always so protective, why you seemed to really dislike that MI6 boy. I hope you got what you wanted in the end. I hope you're happy now, wherever you are."

Terry sighed, before letting the contents of his hand float down into the grave.

"Goodbye Jake," Terry said.

"Goodbye," Dean whispered. The two men took one last glance at Jake's grave before leaving. The rain had drenched their clothes right through, and it was uncomfortably wet. But neither complained. At least they were still alive to be able to feel the wetness.

Behind them, a lone origami swan floated down, before coming to rest on the bed of petals which covered Jake's coffin.

.:X:.

_Well...*awkward silence*._

_Not entirely sure how this chapter turned out – I'm not used to writing about funerals and such... so hopefully it's not as horribly disgusting as I thought it was._

_Well, this brings us to the end of this little series of one-shots. Sooner or later, I'll be posting up my next story which, in keeping with my tradition of having overly long names, I think I will call __Not Every Story Ends Happily Ever After__. So yeah, look out for it!_

_I'd like to take this moment to thank each and every reviewer/alerter I've ever had. I'm so happy that you think my stories are worth reviewing/alerting/favouriting. _

_As usual, please do review. It takes only about ten seconds compared to the hours I spend perfecting each chapter. So please, please leave a review._

_Thank you all so much for sticking with this story!_

_Love Chariots99_


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